The excretion of hexafluorenium in man and rat

Abstract

Urinary and biliary excretion of the bisquaternary ammonium compound, hexafluorenium (Hfl), was investigated in 12 healthy conscious young men (urinary excretion) and in 6 conscious patients with postcholecystectomy bile drainage (biliary excretion). In both groups no more than 5–20% of the injected dose appeared in the urine within 24 hr. Large amounts of Hfl (27–48% of the injected dose) in bile of the bile fistula patients indicate that biliary excretion is the major route of elimination. In the rat pattern of excretion was similar: 1 hr after injection 35% was found in bile while only 4% could be detected in urine. Thin layer chromatography suggests that Hfl is excreted in bile and urine in an unchanged form. Semilogarithmic plots of urinary excretion rates indicate that the drug disappears rapidly from plasma ( t 1 2 = 10–20 min) followed by a slower elimination process ( t 1 2 = 2–4 hr) .